DARJEELING - President Pranab Mukherjee On Nov 10 said enhanced focus should be given on improving quality of education as he regretted that the country has not been able to produce a Nobel Laureate for the last 83 years.“No one from India has won a Nobel prize for the last 83 years. The last one to win was C V Raman,” Mukherjee said while emphasizing on the need to improve the quality of education in the country. Taking the name of three other Indian Nobel Laureates Amartya Sen, Har Gobind Khorana and Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar, the President said they had received the honor while they were working abroad. Addressing the 125th Year Jubilee Celebration of St. Joseph’s School here, Mukherjee said India needs to carve its position in the field of higher education in the world and added that mere expansion of institutes would not suffice.

There should be greater interaction and coordination among the institutes in pursuit for excellence and suitable facilities should be made available for producing quality graduates, he said.Describing education as a powerful tool for social transformation, Mukherjee said the outcome of our education system would be measured not by the number of degree holders, but in the large numbers of informed citizens.“They should be enlightened citizens, who respect humanism and instinctively rise above narrow feelings of hatred, regionalism, violence, divisiveness; and contribute gainfully to a better, stronger and vibrant India,” he said.The President said, “The youth of our country are not lagging behind any other in matters of intelligence or talent; what our country needs is sincerity and dedication.”“It is important that compassion and concern for the under privileged in society is inculcated in our children at an early age so that they can become change agents who transform India and lead her to a better future,” he said.Referring to the saying, “The Battle of Waterloo was won in the playing fields of Eton”, Mukherjee said India’s tomorrows were shaped in the crucibles of great schools, in their classrooms, games fields as well as co-curricular activities.On initiatives to improve the quality of education in the country, Mukherjee said the government had taken a decision to invest 6 per cent of the GDP in the sector and also enacted the Right to Education.Also, taking note of some recent incidents of brutal assault on women and children, he said they were unfortunate and had stirred the collective conscience of the country. “These unfortunate incidents underscore the need for us to introspect and find solution to arrest the erosion of values in our society”. (PTI)